Strip severing and stacking device and method



y 1969 J. MUCHNIC K STRIP SEVERING AND STACKING DEVICE AND METHOD Filed Sept. 21. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m M V M Jxrcaa Muc/w/cK HTTORWEW July 29, 1969 J. MUCHNICK 3,457,814

STRIP SEVERING AND STACKING DEVICE AND METHOD Filed Sept. 21, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 //V VENTO/Z, JA cos Alarm/MK ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,457,814 STRIP SEVERING AND STACKING DEVICE AND METHOD Jacob Muchnick, 229-03 141st Ave., Laurelton, N.Y. 11948 Filed Sept. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 580,980 Int. Cl. B26d 7/06, /20

US. Cl. 83-29 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method and means for severing strips from a web of material and for maintaining the strips in staked relation, one upon the other. The web is intermittently fed forwardly between independently movable first and second foot members, one of which is always engaged against a support member. When the forward feeding of the web is interrupted, the forward end of the web is severed, the first foot member presses the severed web downwardly against the support and the second foot member raises upwardly to a position spaced away from the support. The foot members are then returned to their initial position and the severed strip is maintained pressed against the support. The web is then again fed forwardly and when such feeding is interrupted, the web is again severed to create another strip which the foot members hold in stacked relation upon the first severed strip. By repeated operation of the equipment, multiple severed strips can be provided and each severed strip is maintained in stacked relation upon the previously severed strips.

This invention relates to the art of web feeding and cutting and more particulary it relates to a device for severing a web of material into strips and for maintaining the severed strips in stacked relation.

Strip cutting or severing machines are generally known in the art and have been utilized to cut individual segments or strips from an elongated web of material. Such machines are utilized to cut belting, Webbing, straps, fastening strips, and other similar items which are initially supplied in the form of an elongated roll. Such strip cutters, in general, operate by feeding the material from the source thereof between a pair of relatively movable severing blades, which, when actuated, sever a strip of a predeterminedlength from the remainder of the web.

While such strip cutting machines have been known and utilized in the past, with good success and with relatively high speed, there has always been a problem in handling and arranging the strips of material as the same are severed by the machine. It has often been necessary to utilize an employee to manually stack the severed strips one upon the other, so that the same can be properly packaged for shipment or for use.

Recognizing this problem which has existed with respect to the stacking of strips created by a strip cutting machine, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device which automatically stacks the strips as the same are severed from the supply roll or web.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which severs a web of material into individual strips and which maintains the severed strips in stacked relation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stacking means which is compatible with existing types of strip cutters so that such strip cutters can be easily and inexpensively modified to include a stacking attachment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stacking attachment for a strip cutting machine, which attachment is relatively inexpensive to produce and install,

yet which substantially reduces or completely eliminates the need for manual handling and stacking of the strips severed by the strip cutter.

Other objects, advantages and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a strip cutting and stacking device in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic side elevational view thereof with the parts in their initial position;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view, similar to FIG- URE 2, with a web of material being fed to the device;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view, similar to FIG- URE 2, with a strip being severed from the web of material;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view, similar to FIG- URE 2, showing the device after the strip has been severed;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view, similar to FIG- URE 2, with the severed strip being maintained in position by the device, and with a further portion of web material being fed to the device; and

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view, similar to FIG- URE 2, showing a second strip of material severed from the web and being maintained in stacked relation upon the first severed strip.

The device of the present invention is generally designated 10 and the same includes a web feeding means generally designated 12, a web severing means generally designated 14, a support means generally designated 16, a

first foot means generally designated 18, a second foot' means generally designated 20, driving means generally designated 22 coupled with the first and second foot means, and operating means generally designated 24 for actuating the web severing means 14.

With continued reference to FIGURE 1, it can be seen that the web feeding means 12 includes an upper cylindrical roller 26 aligned above a lower cylindrical roller 28. The web of material to be severed is fed through the nip between the rollers 26 and 28 and past the web severing means 14. Any suitable drive means may be utilized for effecting intermittent rotation of the feed rollers 26 and 28 to thereby cause an intermittent feed of the web of material. In the illustrative form shown in FIGURE 1, a first gear or sprocket 30 is coupled with the upper roller 26 and a second gear or sprocket 32 is coupled with the lower roller 28. The gears or sprockets 30 and 32 are disposed in intermeshing relation with one another so that the rollers 26 and 28 will be driven at the same speed in opposite directions. Suitable power means such as an electric drive motor 34 is provided with a segmental driving gear 36 having a partially toothed periphery. When the toothed portion of the driving gear 36 engages with the sprocket 32, the rollers 26 and 28 will be rotated to feed a web of material therebetween. However, when the nontoothed portion of the driving gear 36 passes the sprocket 32, no meshing will occur and hence the rollers 26 and 28 will not be rotated. It can thus be seen that an arrangement of this type will effect an intermittent feed by the rollers 26 and 28,

The web severing means 14 includes an upper knife blade 38 mounted in a support block 40 and a lower knife blade 42 mounted in a support block 44. Preferably, the lower support block 44 is fixed in position, but the upper block 40 is movable within a pair of upstanding guide means or channels 46. The blades 38 and 42 are movable in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of movement of the web of material through the rolls 26 and 28. Thus, so long as the blades 38 and 42 are maintained in spaced apart relation, the web of material can feed between such blades. However, when such blades are moved relatively to one another, as by moving the upper mounting block 40 downwardly in its guide means 46, the blades 38 and 42 will coact to sever the web of material therebetween.

The support means 16 includes a fiat block or member having a substantially flat upper surface 48 and a pair of depending guide rods 50. Suitable biasing springs 52 act against the bottom of the support means to bias the same upward to a normal position. This normal position maintains the upper surface 48 slightly beneath the level of the nip of the rolls 26 and 28.

Considering the first and second foot means 18 and 20, it will be seen that each such foot means includes a guide body 54 suitably mounted upon a guide rod 56, a forwardly extending leg 58 coupled with the guide body 54, and a projection extending laterally from the leg 58 and across the support means 16. The projection on the first leg means is designated 60 and the projection on the second leg means is designated 62. Each of these projections has a fiat bottom which is engageable with the upper surface 48 of the support means 16. The first projection 60 extends towards the second leg means but terminates somewhat short thereof, and the second projection 62 extends toward the first leg means and terminates somewhat short thereof. The arrangement of these legs means as the same engage the support means 16, forms an important part of the present invention, as such arrangement will be better understoood with reference to FIGURES 27 hereof. By referring to such figures, it will be seen that the second projection 62 extends across the support means 16 substantially at the front thereof, while the first projection 60 is arranged to extend across the support means to the rear end thereof. As can be seen from FIGURE 4, it is possible for both the first and the second projections to be moved toward engagement with the support means 16, and even at this time, a slight space or gap exists between the two projections themselves.

The driving means 22 of the present invention includes a shaft 64 having a first cam 66 and a second cam 68 mounted thereupon in spaced relation. These cams 66 and 68 are fixed to the shaft 64 and rotate therewith. Rotation of the shaft 64 can be accomplished by any suitable means, as, for example, providing a sprocket 70 upon the shaft and engaging such sprocket by means of a chain drive 72 with a segmental driving sprocket 73 coupled with the driving motor 34. The toothed peripheral portion on the sprocket 73 is substantially aligned with the toothed peripheral portion on the driving gear 36. Hence, during operation of the feed rollers 26 and 28, the shaft 64 will not rotate, but thereafter, the toothed peripheral portion of the sprocket 73 will engage the chain 72 to rotate the shaft 64 through one complete revolution.

A linkage means extends between each of the cams 66 and 68 and their associated foot means. Such linkage means includes a first link 74 having a fixed pivot 76 at the forward end thereof. The rearward end of the link 74 is attached by a pivot pin 78 to a further link 80 which, in turn, is pivotally attached at 82 to the guide body 54 of the leg means. A pin or projection 84 extends inwardly from each of the links 74, between the opposite ends thereof, with such pins being engageable with the contoured surface of the earns 66 and 68. Suitable means, such as biasing springs 86, abutting against the guide bodies 54, can be utilized to maintain the pins 84 in contact with the contoured peripheral surfaces of the cams.

As to the operating means 24 utilized for actuating the web severing means 14, any suitable form of actuating mechanism may be utilized, but in the form shown in FIGURE 1, the rod 64 is provided with an offset or crank arm 88 and a link 90 is pivotally mounted at one end with this crank 88 and at its opposite end with the upper blade supporting block 40. Hence, as the rod 64 and the crank 88 rotate, the link 90 will likewise be moved in orbital path and the block 40 and the blade 38 attached thereto will be raised and lowered within the guides 46. When the crank 88 reaches its bottom dead center position, the upper blade 38 will be lowered into cutting relationship, as shown in FIGURE 4.

Before proceeding to describe the operation of the device 10, it must again be emphasized that the present invention need not be limited to the exact form of apparatus shown in FIGURE 1. That is, any suitable form of intermittent drive means may be utilized to drive the rolls 26 and 28, any suitable means may be utilized to cause interaction between the earns 66 and 68 and their associated linkage, and any suitable form of operating means may be utilized to raise and lower the upper cutting blade 38. Thus, for example, instead of the offset crank 88, one could just as readily utilize a cam means coupled with the driving shaft 64. It will, therefore, be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art, that the basic aspects of the present invention lie in the arrangement of the projections 60 and 62 on the foot means, and the manner in which such projections are independently moved with respect to the support means, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

To understand the operation of the device, as will be described in connection with FIGURES 2 through 7, it will be seen that each cam includes along its contoured surface, a high portion and a low portion. When the pin 84 engages with the high portion of the cam, the projection on the foot means will be lowered toward engagement with the support means 16. Likewise, when the projection 84 engages with the low portion of the cam, the projection on the foot means will be raised out of engagement with the support means 16, by biasing action of the springs 86. For convenience of description, the high portion of the first cam 66 will be designated H1 and the low portion thereof will be designated L1. The high portion of the second cam 68 will be designated H2, while the low portion thereof will be designated L2. It will be seen that on the first cam 66, substantially the entire periphery is formed of the high surface H1, and only a small depression form the low portion L1. On the other hand, on the second cam 68, the low portion L2 accounts for somewhat more than 270 and the high portion H2 accounts for the remainder thereof. Also for convenience, in referring to FIGURES 2-7, the links 74 and 80, and the pin or projection 84 associated with the second leg means will be represented as prime numbers, i.e., 74', 84', but it will be understood that these element are identical with the elements associated with the first foot means.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, the parts are shown in their initial position. That is, the projection 84 on the first foot means is disposed in its low position L1, while the projection 84 on the second foot means is disposed in its high position H2. As can thus be seen, the second projection 62 is in contact with the top surface 48 of the support means 16, while the first projection 60 is spaced thereabove. In other words, the knife blades 38 and 42 are spaced apart and the projections 60 and 62 are likewise spaced apart. Thus, with the parts in this position, a web of material W can be fed into the device 10 by the rollers 26 and 28, as shown in FIGURE 3.

After the feeding of the web material W terminates, the shaft 64 and the cams mounted thereupon start to rotate. In FIGURE 4, the first projection 84 has moved from the low portion on the cam 66 onto the high portion H1 thereof, thus lowering the first projection 60 to clamp the web against the top surface 48 of the support means 16. The second projection 84' still remains on the high portion H2 of the cam 68, and hence the second projection 62 remains engaged with the support means 16. As can also be seen in FIGURE 4, at such position, the upper blade 38 is actuated and is lowered to thereby severed a strip S from the web of material W. The first projection 60 clamps this strip S tightly against the surface 48 on the support means 16, but the trailing edge of the strip S overlies the top of the second projection 62.

Continued rotation of the shaft 64, as shown in FIG- URE 5, causes the second projection 84' to move onto the low portion L2 of the second cam 68. When this occurs, the second projection 62 is raised away from the support means 16. This raising of the second projection 62 causes the trailing edge of the strip S to flip upwardly slightly, but such trailing edge will thereafter rest fiat against the top surface 48 of the support means 16. Substantially simultaneously with the lifting of the second projection 62, the upper knife blade 38 is raised. At this point, a strip S will have been severed from the web W, and the strip will remain clamped or sandwiched against the top surface 48 of the support means 16.

The shaft 64 will continue to rotate and to move the cams 66 and 68 until such cams have returned to their initial position of FIGURE 1. Hence, at such time, the second projection 62 will return to its lowermost position whereat the same will retain the strip S in clamped relation on the support means 16, and the first projection 60 will be raised away from the support means 16. Since the projections 60' and 62 are always lowered to the same position, the spring 52 will be compressed by an amount equal to the thickness of the first strip S and the top surface of the strip S will correspond to the position of the top surface 48 on the support means 16, as the same was initially provided in FIGURES 2 and 3.

Continuing to FIGURE 6, the parts have returned to their initial position and the strip S i held in clamped engagement by the second projection 62. The rollers 26 and 28 then feed another portion of web material between the blades 38 and 42 and between the projections 60 and 62, and the device then goes through another cycle. This cycle will, of course, sever another strip S from the web W. The position of the parts in FIGURE 7 corresponds with the position of the parts in FIGURE 5, except that the first projection 60 is holding the initial strip S and the second strip S in clamped relation upon the support means 16. The cams will continue to rotate until they again reach their initial position, and at that time, the strip S and S will be maintained in clamped engagement on the support means by the second projection 62. In other words, the strips S and S will be stacked, one upon the other. The device can then continue to operate in the manner just described, and additional severed strips will be created, with such severed strips being stacked one upon the other and with the entire stack being clamped against the support means 16'. Once a suitable stack of severed strips has accumulated, an operator can merely remove this entire stack from the device 10.

After reading the foregoing detailed description, it should be apparent that the objects set forth at the outset of the specification have been successfully achieved by the present invention. Accordingly, what is claimed is:

1. A device for severing a web of material intostrips and for maintaining the severed strips in stacked relation, said device comprising:

web severing means;

web feeding means operative to feed a portion of said material past said web severing means;

support means disposed adjacent said web servering means;

first and second foot means independently movable relative to said support means;

driving means coupled with said first and second foot means for effecting said independent relative movement; and

operating means for actuating said web severing means to cut the portion of material feeding therepast to create a severed strip;

said driving means initially maintaining said first foot means in contact with said support means and said second foot means spaced away from said support means whereupon said web of material feeding past said severing means feeds between said first and second foot means;

said driving means being operative to move said second foot means toward said support means when said operating means actuates said severing means whereby the strip severed by said severing means is maintained between said second foot means and said support means;

said driving means then being operative, following severing of said strip, to move said first foot means away from said support means as said operating means deactuates said severing means;

said driving means thereafter being operative to move said first foot means toward said support means to hold said severed strip thereagainst and to move said second foot means away from said support means to thereby return said first and second foot means to their initial positions, whereby, upon further operation of said web feeding means and said web severing means, another severed strip will be maintained in stacked relation upon said previously severed strip.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said driving means includes first and second cam means and linkage means coupling said first and second cam means respectively with said first and second foot means.

3. A device as defined in claim 2 wherein said cam means engages against said linkage means to effect said movement of said foot means.

4. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein movement of said severing means, movement of said first foot means, and movement of said second foot means all occur in parallel planes.

5. A device as defined in claim 4 wherein said parallel planes are each substantially perpendicular to the path of feed of said web of material as the same is fed by said web feeding means.

6. A method for severing a web of material into strips and for maintaining the severed strips in stacked relation, said method comprising the steps of:

feeding a web of material in a forward direction;

interrupting said feeding step for a preselected interval to maintain at least the forward portion of said web in a substantially stationary position;

severing the forward portion of said web to create a severed strip; pressing said forward portion against a support substantially simultaneously with said severing step;

maintaining said severed strip pressed against said support after said severing step is completed;

feeding said web of material forwardly again with the forward portion of said web being disposed in spaced juxtaposition to said severed strip;

interrupting said feeding step again when the forward end of said web is substantially aligned with the forward end of said severed strip;

severing the forward portion of said web to create a second severed strip;

pressing said second severed strip against said severed strip substantially simultaneously with said severing strip;

maintaining said severed strip and said second severed strip stacked one upon the other and both pressed against said support even after said severing step is completed; and

repeating said feeding, interrupting, severing, pressing and maintaining steps, in their proper sequence, to create additional severed strips which are stacked 8 upon said severed strip and said second severed FOREIGN PATENTS P- 1,392,356 2/1965 France.

References CM WILLIAM s. LAWSON, Primary Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 US. Cl. X.R.

3,255,653 6/1966 Gruettner et a1. 8396 3,332,826 7/1967 Johnson 83'96 X 8386, 96, 282 

